Kate Abbruzzese and Emma Ramos to Star in ESPEJOS: CLEAN at Hartford Stage

Hartford Stage will present the New England premiere of the bilingual drama Espejos: Clean written by Christine Quintana with Spanish translation and adaptation by Paula Zelaya Cervantes. The production will feature both English and Spanish supertitles continuously throughout the play. This eye-opening story of an unlikely and meaningful connection between two women who unexpectedly meet at a vacation resort in Mexico runs January 12 through February 5 at the Tony Award-winning theatre at 50 Church Street in downtown Hartford, CT.

In Espejos: Clean, the lives of two women with vastly different life experiences intersect at a destination wedding in Cancún. Adriana has left her home in Chetumal, Mexico, and is working as the manager of the housekeeping staff at a resort. Sarah, from Vancouver, is the sister of the bride and the self-acknowledged family screw-up. A chance encounter during a torrential downpour leads each woman to confront her personal storm and to consider the possibility that, though isolated, she may not be as alone as she believes.

Artistic Director Melia Bensussen states, "I so hope you will join us for this highly theatrical experience of cross-cultural misperceptions and internal reckonings that takes place at a gorgeous resort in Mexico. Hartford Stage is proud to present a play told entirely in English and Spanish for the first time in the theater's history. You don't need to speak another language to understand or appreciate the musicality in this play, told through expertly crafted projections, supertitles and wonderful acting. Les damos la bienvenida a una nueva etapa en nuestro teatro."

Espejos: Clean will be directed by Melissa Crespo and feature Kate Abbruzzese as "Sarah" and Emma Ramos as "Adriana." The fully women-led design team includes Scenic Designer Mariana Sanchez, Costume Designer Lux Haac, Lighting Designer Colleen Doherty, Sound Designer Daniela Hart & UptownWorks, and Projection Designer Lisa Renkel. Laura-Jane Collins is stage manager with Chandalae Nyswonger acting as assistant stage manager. Espejos: Clean is a co-production with Syracuse Stage, where director Melissa Crespo serves as Associate Artistic Director.

Espejos: Clean runs Thursday, January 12 through Sunday, February 5, 2023. Tuesday through Thursday evening performances begin at 7:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday evening performances begin at 8:00 p.m.; and Saturday, Sunday and select Wednesday Matinees begin at 2:00 p.m..

Tickets for Espejos: Clean start at $30. Discounts are available for students and groups. Tickets can be purchased by visiting HartfordStage.org calling (860) 527-5151, or visiting the Hartford Stage Box Office at 50 Church Street.

A mask-required performance will be on Saturday, January 28 at 2:00 p.m.; an open-captioned performance will be Sunday, January 29 at 2:00 p.m., and and an English-only audio-described performance will be Saturday, February 4 at 2:00 p.m. Post-show Conversations will take place on January 22, 31 and February 1, 2023.

About the Cast and Director

Kate Abbruzzese

(Sarah) Off-Broadway credits include Richard II, As You Like It (workshops, Public Theatre); Pound (opposite Christopher Lloyd); Dick Pix (Grace). Regional credits include The Old Globe: The Importance of Being Earnest, Dial M For Murder; Chautauqua Theatre Co: The Tempest, Dairyland; O'Neill Playwrights Conference: Black Dick; Cincinnati Playhouse: Steel Magnolias; Shakespeare & Co: Julius Caesar, Hamlet; Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival: The Winter's Tale; Baltimore Center Stage: Pride and Prejudice. She can be seen on film and TV in The Chaperone; Blacklist; NCIS-NOLA; and Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Honors include Semifinalist for the O'Neill Playwrights Conference; two-time winner of the Red Bull Short New Play Festival; recipient of the Molly Thatcher Kazan Memorial Award and the Olympia Dukakis Scholarship. Education: BA Vassar College; MFA NYU Graduate Acting.

Emma Ramos

(Adriana) Off-Broadway include Scenes From a Marriage (Dir. Ivo van Hove); Romeo and Juliet (Public Theater Mobile Unit); There's Always The Hudson (Sundance Theater Lab); Frontieres Sans Fontieres (Bushwick Star); The Collision & The Martyrdom (59E59); House Plant (NYTW Next Door); Peerless (Cherry Lane Theater); Comfort of Numbers (Dir. Danya Taymor). Regional credits include Luna/">Luna Gale (Actors Theater of Louisville); Water By The Spoonful (Premiere Stages); Clean (Solo Flights 2022).She can be seen on film and television in Seven Cemeteries, Gringa, Barbie, Seneca, Bendecidas y Afortunadas, Exeunt, 3rd Street Blackout, El Cielo Es Azul, Sunbelt Express, Endgame, New Amsterdam, Law and Order, Valentina, Marisol, and Perfect Murder. Education: MFA The New School for Drama. Professional Positions: Staff writer for Nickelodeon's reboot of Dora the Explorer and Sonica for Frederator and Braven films. Awards: Best Audience Award (played sold-out screenings along the festival circuit before acquired by HBO); Best Actress Award (nominated along with Olivia Thereby and Jennifer Morrison); Award-Winning Web Series (Emerging Voices Award, NBC Finals 2018 Best Comedy Award, Imagen 2016 & 2017); NYLFF Official Selection.

Melissa Crespo

(Director) makes her Hartford Stage debut with Espejos: Clean. Off-Broadway credits include Bees & Honey (MCC, upcoming); ¡Figaro! (90210) (Duke on 42nd Street). Regional: Sheepdog (Contemporary American Theater Festival); Yoga Play (Syracuse Stage & Geva Theatre Center); and Selena Maria Sings (Childsplay). Melissa is the playwright of Egress (Amphibian Stage & Salt Lake Acting Company). Professional positions include Associate Artistic Director, Syracuse Stage and Founding Editor, 3Views on Theater. Awards include NYWF Director Award (The Lillys) and Roe Green Award for Outstanding Achievement in Playwrighting (Cleveland Playhouse). Education: MFA in Directing, The New School for Drama.

About Hartford Stage

​Hartford Stage has been led by Artistic Director Melia Bensussen and Managing Director Cynthia Rider since the summer of 2019. The theater's mission is to enlighten, entertain, and educate by creating theatrical works of the highest caliber that have a transformative impact on audiences, the community, and its field. Hartford Stage has presented the world premieres of the new musical Anastasia; A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder on Broadway, winner of four 2014 Tony Awards; and Quiara Alegría Hudes' Water by the Spoonful, winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Under Bensussen's artistic vision, the theater has reimagined classics including Eugene O'Neil's Ah! Wilderness which reopened the theater to great acclaim following the pandemic and brought bilingual theater center stage with Quixote Nuevo, the virtual American Voices New Play Festival, Kiss My Aztec!, and the upcoming Espejos: Clean. Hartford Stage's vast Education programs engage students of all ages from across the state through student matinee performances, in-school programs, theatre classes, and youth productions. hartfordstage.org

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